Person: Marc, Alexandre
Fragility, Conflict, and Violence Group
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Social cohesion, Fragility, Conflict, Violence, Social dynamics, Security, Development
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Fragility, Conflict, and Violence Group
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Last updated: January 31, 2023
Biography
Alexandre Marc has over two decades of experience working in areas related to conflict and violence in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and East Asia. At the World Bank, he led the social cohesion and violence prevention team from 2009-2012, and was responsible for post-conflict reconstruction programs in Eastern Europe, as Sector Manager for Social Development, Europe and Central Asia Region. During this time, he also served as Director of the Roma Education Fund, an International Foundation based in Budapest that supports the inclusion of Roma children in education systems. Before joining the Bank, Marc did research and consulting on Africa at Oxford University (St. Antony’s College) and for the Société de’Êtudes et Économiques et Sociales in Paris. In 2005 he was a visiting fellow at the Paris Centre d’Êtudes et de Recherche Internationale (CERI) where he undertook research on cultural identity and minorities.
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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
Publication The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank; and Agence Française de Développement, 2015-06-19) Marc, Alexandre; Verjee, Neelam; Mogaka, StephenThis book seeks to critically examine the challenges of fragility and security in West Africa, along with the factors of resilience. It seeks to investigate key drivers of conflict and violence, and the way in which they impact the countries of the subregion. Along with emerging threats and challenges, these include the challenge of youth inclusion; migration; regional imbalances; extractives; the fragility of political institutions and managing the competition for power; security; and land. The book explores how the subregion, under the auspices of the regional organization ECOWAS has become a pioneer on the continent in terms of addressing regional challenges. This book also seeks to identify key lessons in the dynamics of resilience against political violence and civil war, drawn from countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cote d’Ivoire that can be useful for countries around the world in the midst of similar situations. Finally, it draws on knowledge and findings from a series background papers written by leading experts, and provides insights from the perspectives of academics and development practitioners.Publication Societal Dynamics and Fragility : Engaging Societies in Responding to Fragile Situations(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-01) Rebosio, Michelle; Marc, Alexandre; Balasuriya, Kanishka; Willman, Alys; Aslam, GhaziaThe objective of the study reported in this book was to understand how societal dynamics can be mobilized toward a convergence across groups in society and thus toward greater social cohesion overall. The team began with an extensive consultation phase to identify some key societal dynamics that seemed important in understanding fragility. The German Development Cooperation (GIZ) was a key partner in the study, providing support to the analytical phase in the form of a background paper, and technical advice throughout the preparation of the report. The team continued to consult with these experts throughout the fieldwork and the writing of the book. This book reports a study about societal relationships in fragile situations. Drawing on relevant literature and fieldwork in five countries, it suggests that fragility, violent conflict, and state failure are functions not only of state inability or unwillingness to perform core tasks, but also of dysfunctional relationships in society that do not permit a state to be formed or sustained. The present chapter has introduced the problem of fragility and suggested that seeing fragility as a problem of relationships in society can lead to more effective interventions in fragile situations. Chapter two turns to a key area of societal relations, the state society relationship in fragile situations. Chapter three begins a conversation about social cohesion in fragile situations. It suggests a critical element of social cohesion: a convergence across groups in society. Chapter four discusses how perceptions of injustice across groups can deepen divisions and hinder coexistence and collective action. Many times such perceptions can be even more influential than measurable differences across groups (such as income inequality) in fomenting resentment and division. Chapter five then takes up the issue of interactions between institutions in fragile situations. It is suggested that social cohesion contributes to more constructive interactions among institutions, increasing their capacity to realize development goals. Chapter six shifts the focus to certain relationships in society that are particularly important for social cohesion. Chapter seven describes an overall approach to policy and programming, including how to conduct research and develop knowledge from this perspective. Chapter eight offers specific orientations for adapting existing tools and instruments to address the societal bases of fragility.Publication Delivering Services in Multicultural Societies(World Bank, 2010) Marc, AlexandreThe last two decades have witnessed a growing recognition of the importance of taking cultural and ethnic diversity into consideration when designing and implementing development programs. As societies around the world have become more culturally diverse, and the role culture plays in the formation of identity has become better understood, governments are beginning to pay greater attention to the management of cultural diversity and are becoming more sensitive to issues of cultural exclusion. This book explores how taking cultural diversity into account can affect the delivery of services both positively and negatively, and how local governments can respond to the challenge of programming for and around diversity. The following chapter presents the current debate on the role of governments, at all levels, in managing cultural diversity. Chapter three takes a more in-depth look at specific areas in which the demand for recognition of cultural practices in the delivery of services is strongest. Chapter four examines policies pertaining to basic service delivery that can address and support cultural diversity. Finally, chapter five summarizes the lessons learned from the design of culturally sensitive policies for delivering services to a diverse population.Publication When Things Fall Apart : Qualitative Studies of Poverty in the Former Soviet Union(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003) Dudwick, Nora; Gomart, Elizabeth; Marc, Alexandre; Kuehnast, Kathleen; Dudwick, Nora; Gomart, Elizabeth; Marc, Alexandre; Kuehnast, KathleenThis book documents the experiences of men, women, and children in Armenia, Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan as they struggle with the dramatic changes in lifestyle and extreme poverty that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. Based on hundreds of open-ended interviews conducted by local people over a span of five years, this book captures the particularities of poverty in each nation-state as well as a collective sense of disillusionment and a strikingly similar array of response to the crisis. certain aspects of the dynamics of poverty in the former Soviet Union and its interaction with gender, age, and ethnicity are highlighted. They deepen the understanding of how poor people in these countries experience, explain, and cope with their new circumstances. The studies also identify the range of cultural and administrative barriers that hinder poor people from accessing public services and exploiting economic opportunities. Above all, they highlight important psychological dimensions of poverty in the FSU, including the collapse of values and beliefs that accompanied the increase in poverty and the resulting disorientation experienced by the poor. Finally, the studies demonstrate the continuing importance of informal support networks and the persistence of paternalistic relationships and expectations that the old regime had fostered.Publication Participation in Social Funds(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1995-06) Schmidt, Mary; Marc, AlexandreThe newest Bank supported social funds are designed explicitly to increase the participation of beneficiaries in identifying and managing microprojects, with the aim of making project activities more relevant and sustainable. Features which support participation are built into the design of the funds ' management structure and of the microproject cycle. Additional time, management, and training resources are needed to assess and build the necessary capacity of local organizations; and special measures may be required to enable the most marginalized groups to participate.Publication Designing for Community Participation in Procurement and Disbursement(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1995-03) Gopal, Gita; Marc, AlexandreIn view of the growing number of projects in the social sector, the study previewed by this article examines procurement and disbursement issues in Bank-financed projects with community participation to collate and analyze Bank-wide experience, to identify issues, present cases of best practices, and suggest, where feasible, possible enhancements to existing policies and procedures.Publication Economic Reforms and the Poor : Social Action Programs and Social Funds in Sub-Saharan Africa(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1994-02) Graham, Carol; Marc, Alexandre; Schacter, MarkFor many African countries, and for developing countries in other regions, the latter half of the 1980s was a turning point in the struggle to alleviate poverty. In response to a marked deterioration in the living standards of the poor, caused by an economic crisis and the austerity measures instituted to control it, governments added explicit poverty alleviation objectives to their development policies. In cooperation with external agencies, they began to design and implement interventions such as social action programs (SAPs) and social funds (SFs) to protect the poor and some vulnerable groups from the harmful effects of the economic situation and from the transitory negative effects of economic reform. There has been a growing acceptance of these interventions in Africa as the World Bank has placed greater emphasis on protecting the poor during adjustment. The present study previewed in this brief, reviews the experience of twelve SAPs and SFs in sub-Saharan Africa. Because a number of the programs are still in progress at this writing, it is too soon to analyze their effects on poverty reduction in depth. However, performance information is increasingly available on the implementation of these programs. This report is based on data gathered from project documents and task managers of the projects and on findings by the authors during field visits.